Watercolor Memories

A few sheets of aged, thick watercolor paper sitting at the back of my closet for years…carefully preserved, but not being shared…

On my mind, the sheets of paper were pulled out, shown to my daughters…and loved.

Three pieces painted by my grandmother, LaPriel,  in the early 1950’s….

My dear aunt, her daughter, remembers that she took a few classes with her sister.  They were outdoor classes taught locally, and she loved them.

The desert landscapes of her beloved Arizona, pine-covered mountains, an old barn…these were the things she practiced on...

My favorite—her color wheel, complete with the colors written out in her lovely hand…

They will now be framed…I love them dearly.  No more dark, hidden closets for these works of art…

Are they masterpieces?  No.  But they were painted by the hand of one that I love and have always missed.  LaPriel passed away not too very long after these would have been painted, when I was only three years old. 

Anything that her hands touched—and heart loved—are treasures to me…

Along with the few painted pieces were two blank pieces of the same thick, aged watercolor paper…a thought came into my mind…

Quickly cutting one of those blank sheets to fit (before I changed my mind!), I used it as the background for my newest family story page, made this week…

{beautiful, vintage background prints, photo corners & tag from Crafty Secrets’ “Creating with Vintage Patterns” CD}

Feeling inspired—by my grandmother’s paintings, a beautiful sunny day and my three daughters heading out to the back yard to paint—I joined them.

{yep—this is the view behind my house—not bad, is it?!}

Now, I’m no painter—I know this very well.  But there was something so very soothing, so very satisfying…so very connecting in the doing of it, that I just smiled and smiled…

…and my canvas?  The rest of the piece of watercolor paper saved by my grandmother…

{my attempt at the beautiful blue sky today on LaPriel’s piece of watercolor paper…}

Is it a masterpiece?  No.  Not even a little bit!  But I did it with my own hand, inspired by one that tried the same thing on sunny days many years ago, and I’m sure she smiled while she painted, too…

{a close-up of my very impressionistic hills…don’t worry, I won’t make you look at the whole thing!}

And maybe—just maybe—one day in future years, one of my granddaughters will pull my little painting out of a spot in the back of a closet…and love it simply because I smiled and painted one lovely, sunny day…………….

 

See you soon with something new…

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: LaPriel Riggs Smith,watercoloring,Crafty Secrets